


28th of February - a simple day, in which Shiro finds himself in the much-needed company of a friend

by PenMelody (Skarmoree)



Series: A Metaphorical Trip Around the Sun [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, birthday fic, once again it's a year later than it was actually written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 12:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13833978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skarmoree/pseuds/PenMelody
Summary: The last time Shiro had a birthday he was a prisoner in a galra cell. The last time he had made it a full metaphorical lap around the sun he was fighting in the arena. So he felt rather justified in his decision to ignore the looming birthday that crept slowly toward him.Happy Birthday(ish) Shiro!





	28th of February - a simple day, in which Shiro finds himself in the much-needed company of a friend

**Author's Note:**

> lol I fell asleep thinking "update this in the morning, so it's the first in australia but still the 28th in other parts of the world"
> 
> I woke up at 4pm

The last time Shiro had had a birthday he was a prisoner in a galra cell. The last time he had made it a full (metaphorical, seeing as he wasn't on Earth) lap around the sun he was fighting in the arena. So he felt rather justified in his decision to ignore it. 

For the first time in his life, Shiro was glad to be born on the 29th of February. It allowed him to pretend that his birthday didn't exist, because technically his birthday wouldn't actually happen again until the next leap year. He often wondered if he had hurt anybody on his birthday, before shoving the cruel thought out of his head. He didn't want to think about that, or birthdays in general.

He used to celebrate on the 28th, but now, he didn't feel like celebrating at all.

If he were on Earth, Shiro's true birthday wouldn't be for another three years. He didn't have to think about it. He didn't have to tell anyone. He didn't have to acknowledge that if he were born on a day that appeared every year, it would be already here.

So when the others came asking after him, determined to throw him "the biggest shin-ding in the history of the universe!" (as Lance had excitedly described), he couldn't exactly explain that to them. Instead, he gave a chuckle, ruffled the blue paladin's hair, and told them that his birthday wasn't for a while yet. It wasn't really a lie, just...  a stretching of the truth.

He remembered telling the Holt's when he was over for dinner once a while back, ducking his head in embarrassment as Sam made the inevitable dad jokes. Matt of course, simply said that it was a leap year currently and that meant he could to his best to annoy Shiro as much as possible and in any way he could. He remembered Katie needing to excuse herself from the table when she realised that Shiro was only five, giggling to the point where she could barely breathe. He had never felt so awkward in his life.

So he really shouldn't have been surprised when Pidge found him later that day, knocking hesitantly on his bedroom door. 

"Shiro? Can I come in?" she said meekly, peering around the doorway.

In the middle of performing maintenance on his arm, Shiro looked up. "I- oh, sorry..." She chuckled awkwardly, realising that she had interrupted something important. Yet there was a flash of determination in Pidge's eyes, and Shiro would never turn away one of his paladins.

"It's fine." he said, waving her in and moving aside some tools so she could sit down.

Pidge took a seat, looking down at Shiro's arm. She could see the grime and dirt that clogged the joints even from her position.

"How did you even get that much dirt in the joints?" Pidge frowned, hands automatically moving to fix it. She stopped when Shiro flinched, pulling his arm back a little.

"Oh, come _on_ Shiro, how are you even cleaning it left handed?" Pidge murmured gently. Shiro paused for a moment before holding his arm out to her again. Pidge reached out slowly, taking the arm and turning it gently so she could examine the joint properly. She reached up and pushed her glasses up her nose, squinting down before looking up at Shiro again.

"Hand me the little brush?" She asked, hand out and waiting.

As he did so, Shiro tried to lessen his heart rate. He was safe here. Pidge would not do anything that would hurt him. 

Thankfully, Pidge seemed to realise what thought was going through his head. She was gentle and nimble, doing her best to cause no discomfort to him as she used her significantly smaller hands to get to the places he had missed. Eventually, Shiro found himself relaxing, allowing Pidge to become more bold with her movements, twisting his arm this way and that and moving the fingers individually to check if they were clean. As she worked, Shiro let his mind wander. 

"Hey Shiro?"

"Yeah?" he was jolted out of his thoughts, turning to face Pidge with a startled expression.

"I'm done." she laughed, gently moving the metal arm so that it waved in its owner's face.

Shiro paused for a moment at the sight of his own arm being casually waved around by a small child. It was oddly calming, Pidge was not afraid of his arm, she accepted it as part of who he was, and that made his heart strangely tingly. 

He was after all, still human, even if that particular limb wasn't. He smiled at the thought. It was nice to feel accepted, even if it cost an arm and a... he actually didn't want to finish that thought. 

He let out a slight laugh at his amusing yet morbid train of thought. Pidge stared at him, eyebrow raised in a very Lance-like expression.

"What?" She asked, dropping his limb and laughing as Shiro fell sideways in an attempt to compensate for the sudden extra weight. 

"It's nothing, Pidge." 

"Is this because I can't lift your arm properly?"

"Well maybe-" Shiro found himself chuckling a little. "You are our youngest paladin, after all."

"Says the six year old!"

"Hey! This six year old is the... Champion of the... Galra..." Shiro frowned, glaring down at his metallic limb, only to find a smaller hand already resting on it.

"Shiro, don't torture yourself like that!" Pidge shook her head fiercely, tugging his arm until he rose with her into a standing position, where he found himself with an armful of green paladin as she launched into a tight hug. Shiro ruffled her hair, giving a weak laugh.

"I'll... try not to."

"That's all we ask, Shiro." Pidge pulled away, a guilty smile now set on her face. "Now come on, Lance thinks your birth date is hilarious, and he and Hunk set up a party for you."

"Really now?" Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at her. He should have known that she would tell them.

"Yeah... except its a six year old party."

"Oh no." He groaned.

Shiro was smiling as he and Pidge left the room, Pidge rambling on about birthday parties and strange aliens that apparently didn't celebrate birthdays or other special days.

It hurt a little to think about his last birthday, but for his team he would shelve his pain, and perhaps even learn to enjoy his birthday again. 


End file.
